GARETH Southgate insisted he “wouldn’t back away from it” after England were booed and he appeared to have beer cups thrown towards him following another disappointing performance at Euro 2024 on Tuesday night.
England secured top spot in Group C and their place in the last sixteen but were again poor in their 0-0 drew against Slovenia.
After the final whistle, Southgate and the players went to applaud their supporters, but there were jeers and fans also showed their displeasure by throwing cups on to the pitch.
England defeated Serbia 1-0 in their opening game before drawing 1-1 against Denmark. Southgate has come in for criticism for how a side with arguably the best attack at the tournament are playing.
“I’m not going to back away from it,” Southgate said when asked about the reaction from some fans. “The most important thing is the supporters stay with the team.
“I understand the narrative towards me and that’s better for the team than it being towards them.
“But it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar. I understand it, I’m not going to back away from it, but I’m very proud of the players for how they’re operating within it.”
“I was not going to back away from going over to thank people for coming and giving the support that they did, but I know that this is causing an issue for the group.
“I can deal with that but I need them to support the players.
“We have made England fun again over the last six years. It’s been enjoyable for the players and we have to be very careful that it stays that way.”
Southgate added: “I’m in a really good place. I’m asking the players to be fearless and I’m not going to back down from thanking the fans.
“The fans were exceptional with the team in the second half, that makes such a difference.
“It’s so important they stay with the team no matter how they feel about me. I’ve been around England for 20 years. I’ve seen it. I get it.”
Southgate felt there was improvement against Slovenia, who are ranked 57th in the world.
Southgate said: “After what happened after the last game, I didn’t think we would be free and liberated and score six goals.
“But we have shown some encouraging signs. We pinned them back and had wave after wave of attack.
“Of course we would have loved a couple of goals. It’s definitely an improvement on the last game. We have to build from here.
“It’s important to win the group because you control your own destiny.
“It doesn’t mean you get an easier tie but people can’t accuse us of ending up with a tougher draw when we didn’t win the group.”
